The US Immigration and Customs Department has asked students pursuing degrees in America to leave the country or risk deportation if their universities switch to online-only classes due to the global pandemic. According to educational consultants, the decision stands to adversely affect hundreds of thousands of Indian students in the US.
“Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programmes must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status,” said a press release by ICE on Monday (6 July).
Educational consultants in India have expressed the apprehension that those students who stayed in the US during the lockdown period would now have to come back, if their universities do not offer in-person classes or hybrid classes.
“The students who are stuck there or did not opt to come back to India, those students will face problems because now they have to come back, if their university goes completely online. There are other implications also, because the I-20 Visas allows you to only stay out of the country for a maximum period of five months. But if you stay out of the country for more than five months, you have to do the process all over again,” Mrinal Singh, Executive Director of educational consultants Prem N. Kapoor and Associates in New Delhi, explained to Sputnik.
According to Sumeet Jain, Co-founder of Yocket – a network for those pursuing an overseas education, said this would badly affect students who are already in the United States.
“If their universities don't open on-campus classes, they will need to come back or transfer to any of the universities which are starting on-campus classes. Most of the universities will now be considering opening the campuses,” he said.
Jain felt the latest move by the Trump Administration would choke universities of their international student revenue.
India sends the largest number of students to the United States after China. According to the latest Student and Exchange Visitor Programme – SEVIS, there were 255,447 in 2018.
The Trump Administration has made several changes to the US Immigration System, citing the global pandemic. Washington had curtailed legal immigration to the US under L-1, H-1B, H-2B and J-1 categories of visas till the year-end.